Tottenham travel to Portugal to face Pacos Ferreira on Thursday night in the first leg of their Europa League play-off final for a place in the group stage of the competition.
Pacos qualified for the competition’s third qualifying round after finishing the 2020/21 season in the Primeira Liga and has started the current campaign in mixed form. Domestically, the Portuguese kit has so far won and lost in its initial two league matches and advanced to the third round of the Taca de Portugal via a penalty shootout.
Tottenham have, of course, only played one competitive match so far in 2021/22 and came away with a 1-0 winner over reigning Premier League champions Manchester City. They play their first match in the virgin Europa Conference League on Thursday night, after finishing seventh in the league last semester to go straight into the playoffs.
Here is a 90 minute preview of the tie.
The luminaire setting / Octavio Passos / Getty Images
When is it kick off? Thursday 19 August, 19:30 (BST) Where is it played? Estadio Capital do Movel, Pacos de Ferreira What TV channel is it on? Premier Sports 1 (UK), fuboTV (USA)Who is the judge? Maurizio Mariani
It was recently revealed that, despite previous reports, Harry Kane will not be traveling with the Tottenham squad for this match.
Otherwise, Nuno Espirito Santo has a full squad to choose from, but is likely to make major changes, as he revealed that no player who started Sunday’s win over Manchester City will do so again on Thursday.
Cristian Romero can stand in line for a full debut / Marc Atkins / Getty Images
This could mean full debut for signings Pierluigi Gollini, Cristian Romero and Bryan Gil, while Giovani Lo Celso could get a starting role at night.
Pacos coach Jorge Simao made four changes to his starting lineup in the 70th minute of his team’s 3-0 win over Boavista in their final outing, meaning he could pick a lineup close to full strength to face Spurs.
Helder Ferreira, Ze Uilton, Joao Pedro and Douglas Tanque are all in line to start the match.
Pacos de Ferreira: En Ferreira; Fonseca, Ramos, Baixinho, Antunes; Carlos, Eustaquio, Santos; H.Ferreira, Denilson, Silva.
Tottenham: Gollini; Doherty, Romero, Rodon, Davies; Blinkar, Lo Celso, Sissoko; Clarke, Scarlett, Gil.
In reality, anything but a win would be a disappointment for the Spurs squad and their fans.
? ➡️ ?? pic.twitter.com/sSf1hcQgqr
– Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 18, 2021
After showing a good collective display against last season’s dominant Premier League champions, it is safe to say that it looks a little more rosy right now than they did before the start of the campaign – although Kane’s situation is still unresolved.
Of course, Pacos Ferreira is in the same stage of this competition on his own, after beating the Northern Irish kit Larne 4-1 overall in the second qualifying round. This is only the club’s fifth investment in European football since they were formed in 1950, and Simao’s players will be nagging a bit to make Tottenham even more upset.
But with the depth and quality of the squad Santo has at its disposal, there should only be one winner here.
Prediction: Pacos Ferreira 0-3 Tottenham
